Indigenous Heritage and Public Museums: Exploring Collaboration and Exhibition in Canada and the United States
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Indigenous Heritage and Public Museums: Exploring Collaboration and Exhibition in Canada and the United States by Sarah Carr-Locke M.A. (Interdisciplinary), University of Northern British Columbia, 2005 B.A. (Native Studies/Anthropology), Trent University, 1998 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Archaeology Faculty of Environment Sarah Elizabeth Carr-Locke 2015 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2015 Approval Name: Sarah Carr-Locke Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Title: Indigenous Heritage and Public Museums: Exploring Collaboration and Exhibition in Canada and the United States Examining Committee: Chair: John Welch Associate Professor George Nicholas Senior Supervisor Professor Eldon Yellowhorn Supervisor Associate Professor Barbara Winter Supervisor Museum Curator Mary-Ellen Kelm Internal Examiner Professor Department of History Jennifer Kramer External Examiner Associate Professor Department of Anthropology Curator Museum of Anthropology University of British Columbia Date Defended/Approved: June 22, 2015 ii Ethics Statement iii Abstract The struggle for Indigenous rights to self-determination has included the recognition that Indigenous peoples are stakeholders in the treatment of their cultural heritage within museums. Large public museums tasked with representing Indigenous heritage tend to support the principle of working with communities to create exhibits, but studies on specific practices are lacking. I address this problem by asking: “What does ethical collaborative practice look like in the context of museum exhibit creation?” My research falls under three themes: 1) the history of collaborative practice; 2) collaborative processes; and 3) exhibit design. I show that patterns of increased collaboration were influenced by larger trends in Indigenous rights movements, and introduce the term “Indigenous museology” to frame engagement between Indigenous peoples and museums. I have defined Indigenous museology as museum work done “with, by, and for” Indigenous peoples, whereby they are recognized as primary stakeholders in museological practices. This dissertation presents a broad overview of the development of Indigenous museology over time, while focusing on exhibit creation as a key practice. My fieldwork consisted of a multi-site ethnographic study at four large, public museums: the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii; the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories; the Denver Museum of Nature and Science in Denver, Colorado; and the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, British Columbia. By exploring how these museums have engaged Indigenous peoples in exhibit creation, I found a variety of independent adoptions of similar principles. My results show that museums adopt a range of methods to engage communities, and that a “one-size-fits-all” practice for collaboration is impractical. Several patterns emerged that illustrate models for good practice. A preferred approach is to engage Indigenous peoples from the outset of projects. Even better is the involvement of Indigenous peoples as staff museum members working on interpretation. Techniques for effective design include storytelling, mobilizing “Native voice,” and programming that includes Indigenous peoples. Strong institutional mission and vision statements are also important. These ways of working are significant trends in museum practice. Finally, research on Indigenous museology illustrates how ethical, collaborative practices manifest and can be further developed within museums. iv Keywords: museums; Indigenous heritage; representation; collaboration; critical heritage; indigenous museology v Acknowledgements I am very appreciative of everyone to made time out of their busy schedules to talk to me about their work. In Honolulu, thanks go to Betty Lou Kam for hosting my visit to Bishop Museum and BJ Short for giving me a space in the library and suggesting research materials. Thank you to all my interviewees: Blair D. Collis, Bill Marston, Kamalu du Preez, Noelle Kahanu, DeSoto Brown, Lissa Gendreau, Mike Shannahan, Marques Marzan, Lokomaika'i Lipscomb, Marcus Quiniones, and David Kemble. Special thanks to Richard Wong for being my tour guide. In Yellowknife, a great big thank you to Tom Andrews for hosting me at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre (PWNHC) by arranging a desk, email address, and making introductions. Thank you to Tom and Ingrid Kritsch for welcoming me into their home for three weeks and most of all for the private evening Northwest Territories anthropology seminars. Thank you to the staff of the PWNHC that I interviewed, who I now have the pleasure to work with: Barb Cameron, Boris Atamanenko, Karen Wright- Fraser, Joanne Bird, Susan Irving, Dot Van Vliet, Rae Braden, Mike Mitchell. Thank you as well to Myrna Pokiak, John B. Zoe, and Wendy Williams, who spoke to me about their experience with the museum. Special thanks to Robert R. Janes who took time out of his vacation to speak to me, a trend that has continued to this day. In Victoria, thanks to Martha Black for two interviews and a long phone call, all of which helped guide me in the right direction and to check my assumptions. Thank you to Jennifer Robinson for letting me sleep in her living room amongst the museum theory books and making sure I was well fed and hydrated. Thank you to interviewees: Tim Willis, Mark Dickson, Lorne Hammond, Jack Lohman, Tzu-I Chung, Grant Keddie, and Janet MacDonald. In Denver, thanks go to Laurie Edwards-Ryder for looking after me at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Thank you to Chip Colwell for helping make introductions and Steve Nash for allowing me to work in the anthropology office. Thank you to interviewees: Heather Thorwald, Jodi Schoemer, Lynda K. Knowles, Frances vi Kruger, Liz Davis, Michelle Koons, Melissa Bechhoefer, Joyce Herold, Calvin Pohawpatchoko Jr., and George Sparks. Thank you to Jen Shannon for giving me a tour of the University of Colorado, Boulder Museum of Natural History. Profound thanks go to my supervisor George Nicholas for his patience, encouragement, sense of humour, attention to detail, generosity, and exactitude. Thank you to Jenny Lewis, aka my PhD wife, who was the best companion I could have had on this journey. Thank you to Karen Spicer for her professional editing services, particularly for sacrificing sleep for a last minute read-through. Gratitude goes to my committee members Eldon Yellowhorn and Barb Winter for editing, encouragement and support. Special thanks to Barb for suggesting the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre as a case study, thus shaping my career path. Thank you to Jennifer Kramer and Mary-Ellen Kelm for accepting the invitation to be part of my examination committee. Thank you to my fellow SFU Archaeology Department graduate students, for time spent in the grad lab as well as in the pub. I was proud to be part of the all-female cohort of 2010! The comps/dissertation support group members (Katie LeBlanc, Chris Springer, Elizabeth Peterson, Jenny Lewis) played an important role in helping me through the Ph.D. process. Deepest thanks to the Steering Committee of the Intellectual Property Issues in Cultural Heritage (IPinCH) project. The ongoing financial support made all the difference in my ability to complete my degree. I am grateful to be included in such a passionate group of people who care so deeply about human rights over heritage; I have been so inspired by the passion and energy of all of the project’s associates and partners, and look forward to engaging seeing where the connections made within IPinCH lead us to in the future. Appreciation goes to the SFU Archaeology Department support staff: Laura Walker, Chris Papaianni and particularly Merrill Farmer for vital administrative support. Thank you to the SFU Archaeology Department for providing funding, including money to travel to my case study sites. vii Thanks to Moira Simpson for sending me a copy of her dissertation in the mail all the way from Australia. Thank you to the Northern Studies Training Program for funding to conduct my study of the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in Yellowknife. Significant moral and intellectual support was provided by Mr. David Finch. This dissertation was enabled by dark chocolate and black tea. viii Table of Contents Approval .............................................................................................................................ii Ethics Statement ............................................................................................................... iii Abstract .............................................................................................................................iv Acknowledgements ...........................................................................................................vi Table of Contents ..............................................................................................................ix List of Tables ................................................................................................................... xiii List of Figures.................................................................................................................. xiv A Note on Terms ..............................................................................................................xv Chapter 1. Museums and Indigenous People ..........................................................